Salim’s whinge: Police are ‘picking on me’

Salim Mehajer has complained police were "picking on him" during his latest arrest, and said they did little to help him when he claimed his home was being broken into.

The former deputy mayor of the now abolished Auburn council in western Sydney was arrested on 3 June for breaching bail conditions.

He is fighting additional bail conditions that have prevented him from having a mobile phone or accessing social media, including his favoured platform Instagram.

In a police video of his arrest tendered to Parramatta District Court on Thursday, Mehajer can be seen opening the front door of his Lidcombe mini-mansion dressed in an untucked white shirt and trousers looking confused about why police are at his home.

Later in the video the police officers berate him for taking too long to get ready to head to the police station as he preens himself in a mirror.

Mehajer was arrested for allegedly contacting Hassan Kanj, a witness in another case he is involved with.

Salim Mehajer took time to find his preferred outfit during his latest arrest. Photo Jeremy Piper

The lengthy footage shows Mehajer's palatial Lidcombe mini-mansion including its marble spiral staircase and lavish walk in wardrobes, the size of small rooms. One room is wall-to-wall business shirts, suits and shoes where Mehajer ponders what to wear to the cells.

"Any pants will do, I'm not going to wait until you get a specific suit ready," exasperated Detective Sergeant Matthew Taylor of Auburn police, who made the arrest, says to Mehajer.

"The thing is I can't find the right pants," Mehajer replies.

The disgraced businessman then heads into the bathroom with his former girlfriend Melissa Tysoe in tow. Looking into the mirror he applies moisturiser and then covers himself in a fine mist of hair spray.

The moment of Salim Mehajer’s arrest on 3 June captured on police bodycam footage. Supplied

At one point, Mehajer hits out at the arresting cops complaining of their focus on him, just two weeks after he left jail. He says he was unaware of the minutiae of the many bail conditions he had.

"You guys honestly just pick on me. There was stuff that happened in the house and you guys did nothing," he says in the footage.

The officer is unfazed.

"I've seen four emails sent by you to Hassan and I've seen the conditions to you bail," he tells Mehajer.

The former deputy mayor has a lot of suits to choose from in his walk in wardrobe. Supplied

Mehajer spent a night in prison on 3 June but was released the next day with the magistrate warning him if he breached his bail conditions again, he would stay behind bars for longer.

The one-time property developer was four and a half hours late to court last week, with the judge on that occasion warning him he would issue an arrest warrant if he didn't show himself pronto.

This time Mehajer was more punctual. Wearing a grey suit and light blue short a tidy looking Mehajer arrived at the Parramatta District Court well in time for proceedings to begin.

His father Mohammed accompanied him to his court appearance.

Mehajer had said he'd missed court on that occasion, 13 June, because he ended up in hospital due to a hand injury.

Referring to his recent brush with ill health, Detective Senior Constable Patrick Jones of Auburn police station said he had a conversation with a doctor regarding Mehajer's condition and if it would prevent him from attending court.

Det Sgt Taylor, who was with Mehajer during his 3 June arrest, said he spent more than three hours with Mehajer who didn't once refer to a sore hand.

The 33-year-old property developer is seeking a number of variations to his bail conditions including permission to have one mobile phone and to use social media, in particular Instagram.

The police station was less fancy than his pad. Supplied

At a previous court hearing, Mehajer had said he wanted access to a mobile phone for business and safety reasons, noting his Sydney home was broken into when his mother and partner were present when he first went into jail.

However, in court today, Det Sgt Taylor had said there had been no reports of a break and enter at addresses where Mehajer had lived for more than a year. And investigations into those cases were closed. Asked by the prosecution what "closed" meant the police officer commented: "When matter closed it means no offence has been detected."